Amazing read.

Absolutely love the way this story was written, although I don't feel satisfied with the abrupt ending of offred's story.

I don't know why there are so many reviews asking about why there is music throughout, it is a vital part of the story when you get to the ending. Definitely recommend!

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Second time is even better than the first

Title says it all. Should be required reading in all schools around the world period.

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Silly scratchy musical transitions

Wonderful story with excellent narrative performance. That said, what is with the ridiculous scratchy music transitions at the beginning of section chapters? The sounds bear no reference to the plot and are irrelevant. The sound engineers didn't give any breathing time between these scrunch scratches and the narrative either making the production appear amateur.

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The Future in History

This is a remarkable book that explores the behaviour of people in generations past recreating their double in the present world and the foreseeable future. It is no wonder that Atwood has become so well-regarded. Her ability to layer plots and characters created an incredible mosaic that captures the readers attention and is highly thought provoking. A great book!

A great classic story

Well written, but a scary potential reality - especially with current events in very recent times (I know Margaret Atwood spoke out after the storming of the Capitol in January that when she wrote this in 1985 she never imagined it ever truly happening, and seeing it before her eyes terrified her).

I've only seen the first 3 episodes of the show, but I have purchased the DVDs of the first 2 seasons, and I know the next season (not sure if it's season 3 or 4!) starts in April. I hope to be able to watch it now that I have the full background of the book. Watching the show wasn't able to fully hold my interest at the time, a couple years ago, but I think I will be able to have a full appreciate it now. The parts of the show I can recall (and oddly, even about 2 years later I recall quite a bit of those 3 episodes! Unusual for me, especially so long after), were extremely close to the book. Anyone that has watched should read, because it's close (from what I can tell and recall) and will give even more in-depth information about what she is trying to convey about this fall of civilization.

I'm about to start book 2, The Testaments (she published this book only in Sept 2019, a long time after the original - is it updated and more contemporary or just a continuation of Handmaid's Tale, the rest of Offred's story?).


I bought this special edition audio (narrated by Claire Danes - excellent job!) that came with the extended afterword from the author, that sheds quite a bit more light on what she was writing and what she was thinking at the time. I really appreciated the additional insight! It also has an extra "classroom" lecture type setting that goes into a diary of a handmaiden. Definitely worth getting this one over the other, if you're not sure which one to go with (the extra voices are in that piece at the end - where they claim to have found a diary from the handmaiden and are discussing it in a lecture, many years later. Gives more info and insight into what life was like in a more anthropological way, even though it's just a quick segment, it's great!). I also bought the box-set of paperbacks of the 2 books together, and could read along.

THE HANDMAID'S TALE

There should be no need to write a review for this book. It is now Canadian classic that has been made into the TV show. I love how Margaret tell the story, although it was not what I was expected. I wish there was more answers... :)

whoa¡

In the late 1980's I saw a movie similar to the book. I prefer the book. Subjugation and oppression for the baby makers, history sounding off in fiction.

Excellent!

A gripping performance of Atwood's novel. this edition has the added bonus of an afterword by the author and a reflective essay by a critic.

Great and timely book

Excellent and detailed story that shows us how history and the future merge together to better understand issues that are both timely and relevant in today's world.

Loved it, but one thing irked me

Clair Danes is a master narrator. I was drawn in to the story. Made to believe I could actually be hearing a firsthand account.

The one thing that bothered me was the chapter Intros. The solemn reading of the chapter number often followed by the audible click of a cassette player to play a brief clip of music, and another click to stop the music. It feels jarring. Unpolished without being purposeful. Rather than feeling jarred in the sense of "This is breifly putting the listener back into the time frame this fictional woman lived and lost", it feels like something you'd do as an angsty teen to try and add weight to a self-recorded oration of poems you'd written, without trying to edit the music in after like you would for a mix tape. Your friend is in on it. She reads the titles of each poem and runs the other cassette player. It's the kind of "serious" thing you get REALLY into at the time, but when you and your friend listen to it again as adults, it's just painfully funny.